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Detroit Henry Ford wins school’s first state title
East Lansing – Last season Ken Flowers’ mentor and one of his best friends won his first state title. Flowers and his Detroit Henry Ford team couldn’t match that as they lost in the Class B final to Wyoming Godwin Heights later that day.
Detroit Western won the 2015 Class A title giving coach Derrick McDowell his first state title.
A year later Flowers and his Trojans got theirs.
Henry Ford held Stevensville Lakeshore to three points in the second quarter and went on to defeat the Lancers, 61-47, in the Class B final on Saturday at the Breslin Center.
It’s the first state title for the school in any sport.
This was Lakeshore’s first final appearance since 2012.
“That’s my mentor,” Flowers said. “I played for him all four years (at Detroit Redford). I coached with him (four years as an assistant). And I took over the program (at Redford) when he left for Eastern Michigan.
“I want this to be my own program but I can’t forget that.”
Flowers was the head coach at Redford for two seasons before the school closed. He just finished his ninth season at Henry Ford.
Lakeshore (20-8) was 1-of-6 from the field and committed five turnovers in the second quarter, and trailed 27-13.
The Trojans (20-7) increased their lead to 34-19 in Kavon Bey’s basket with 3:57 left in the third.
Henry Ford seemingly had the game well in hand. But Lakeshore scored the final nine points of the quarter and Bey, Henry Ford’s only post play at 6-4, picked up his fourth foul with two minutes and didn’t return until midway through the fourth.
Lakeshore had the momentum and the crowd behind it heading into the fourth.
But that momentum was fleeting and the crowd noise went down a few decibels when Deonta Hunter and Jeremy Crawley made back-to-back 3-pointers to give Henry Ford a 42-30 lead with 5:48 remaining.
Up to that point Henry Ford was 2-of-20 from the 3-point range.
“We were pone or two plays from making a run,” Lakeshore coach Sean Schroeder said. “There were some loose balls we couldn’t get and they got those threes. Those were big plays. You have to get those loose balls to win.”
The Trojans led 50-33 when Lakeshore again went on a run. Logan Steffes and Gibson Archer each made a 3-pointer to highlight a 12-2 run that brought the lancers to within 52-45 with 1:46 left.
Henry Ford made 6-of-10 free throw attempts in the final 1:23 to put the game on ice.
Crawley led Henry Ford with 18 points and James Towns added 15. Alston Hunter had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
For Lakeshore Braden Burke had 19 points and Steffes had 10.
Burke and the Lancers’ other starting post player, Max Gaishin, are 6-11 and 6-7, respectively yet Henry Ford held a 30-19 edge in rebounds.
“These guys are tough,” Flowers said. “You can’t count them out.”
For Towns, a four-year starter, it was an emotional finish to his career.
“Ever since that (state final loss) we’ve been in the gym,” he said. “It’s like losing everything when you lose like that. Nobody had us winning this. We proved them wrong.”
